Charlie Brown has had to be patient during his first year with Cheltenham Town, but he says he’s glad to be able to contribute with important goals.
After signing from MK Dons on January 6, 2022, an injury kept the 23-year-old side-lined for much of the remaining campaign, but he has returned in 2022-23 with plenty of hunger to score.
“I hadn’t been training for too long and I got injured which kept me out for the majority of last season, so it was a tricky start,” said Brown, “but, I had a good off-season and came back feeling fit, fresh, and ready to go for this season. I’ve not had loads of gametime so far but when I have [been playing] I’ve been able to help the team in a positive way and I’m ready to kick on!”
The positive impact comes through crucial goals, a stand-out being a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw away to Port Vale. In total, he’s amassed five goals in 19 appearances in all competitions, and Brown knows what is expected of him when called upon by head coach Wade Elliott.
“As a striker, it’s your job to score goals so when I can come on and do that it shows that I can do my job well, and all I can do now is to keep scoring more.”
The competition in which Brown has made the biggest impact is the Papa Johns Trophy. His goals have helped propel the club to equalling its best ever performance in the tournament, with a quarter final to come on Tuesday against Salford City. Brown believes that he and his teammates have what it takes to achieve a dream and go all the way to Wembley.
“It’s a competitive tournament and there’s a big prize at the end of it. When you get this far in a competition everyone’s eyes are on that, and want to reach that final, so we’ll continue to do our best to get there.”
It was in the round-of-16 tie against Chelsea under-21s that Brown’s best memories of his time in Gloucestershire came, scoring a brace against the club who had such a big hand in his development.
“It wasn’t like I was buzzing to score against them, because I’m very thankful for Chelsea for what they’ve done for me and the years I had there, which were brilliant.
“I scored two goals and was nominated by the competition for player of the round so I’d have to say that’s been my best moment at the club so far.”
